Archive for the ‘blog’ Category

Free Song from the New Record

Sunday, April 4th, 2010

TLFR_Debut_Layout5So, the new TLFR album is done, sent to radio, and just delivered to a bunch of magazines, blogs, and newspapers. Yes! Official release date is June 1.

If you’d like a free advance copy of the first song, “Take Me Out” click this link –
http://trkurl.com/sDGd7g

You will be asked to post a tweet about the song,
& to share your email address with us.

Then comes the link for the free download.

Thanks for helping us share our music.
; )

Radio, Press, Planetary Group, and Red Bull

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

Because we’re lazy, and because they are good, we’re pleased to have teamed up with Planetary Group in LA to promote our new record to Press and Radio.   We’ve done the DIY thing before, with OK results (hey, my last band Instar even got a positive mention from NME in the UK that way) but it is an EPIC PAIN to contact a zillion magazines, figure out who’s the right contact, package up CDs, follow up / repeat repeat repeat.  Much nicer to have our Red-Bull fueled pals over at Planetary Group work their magic mojo for us.

Yeah, were not making them like this.

Yeah, we're not making them like this.

First press packages just went out which means…  which means…  we’ll be waiting around for a few months.  The record needs to land on music reviewers desks, then they take a listen, write up some stuff, and the magazines finally get printed and shipped.  It’s hilariously slow and pre-web,  like a nice home-cooked meal vs chewing on a handful of sugar cubes.

So, figuring we need at least two months lead-time for the mags, we have an Official Release Date for the Too Late for Roses album “Debut” of June 1, 2010.  Ta da!
» Hear Some of the Music
» Check out the Album Art


Radio is different, of course – it’s very real-time.  We’re super stoked to have been added on 34 stations, with 3 stations reporting spins in the first week, and one charting @ #29 (thanks, WXCU, Columbus Ohio).    Can’t wait for next week’s report…


Download our new free EP at http://www.toolateforroses.com/  – free mp3s of new california rock music


Hey, we’re auditioning Bass Players!

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Jordan’s off on an extended wanderjahr, so we’re looking for a super new bass player / multi-instrumentalist.

Live in Central Coast California?   Read More Here!

Sneak peek: “Debut” Album Art Finished

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

We’re super-stoked to share the album art for the Too Late for Roses ‘Debut’.     Of all the records I’ve worked on , this art fits the music best.
Thanks to JAPROPERTSARTS for the outstanding work…

We’re manufacturing the disks in Digipak format, which I think will show off the work beautifully.  Behold!

TLFR_Debut_Cover

TLFR_Debut_Layout5
Screen shot 2010-02-16 at 12.29.26 PM

We were shooting for something moody, interpretable, ‘big’, and detailed, maybe with echos of OK Computer and Summer Wrist, but with some of the sepia surf-vibe of Pacific Dust mixed in.

The lamest video on Surfline?

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

UPDATE

Surfline responded, and took the video down.  The deal is that this video appeared in a’user moderated’ section of the site, so it wasn’t vetted in the usual way.  Very nice of them to act so quickly (not surprising they didn’t dig the Pismo Jetski antics once they reviewed it).
So, yay Surfline – check them out here!      [ And support the Central Coast Marine Sanctuary! ]


Download our new free EP at http://www.toolateforroses.com/  – free mp3s of new california rock music



Download our new free EP at http://www.toolateforroses.com/  – free mp3s of new california rock music


This normally useful website is promoting a ‘featured local video’ of guys just… riding jetskis.  On a totally paddle-able beachbreak.  Note that they’re not using the jetskis to tow-in, or travel somewhere.  They’re  just… screwing around in the surf-zone.   Where the actual surfers surf.  WTF?

Can you imagine paddling out and having these three jackasses wizzing around on their polluting, loud, unsafe gizmos when you’re trying to catch waves?  Sorry, JetSki guys, your right to ride around like a moron stops when you do it on densely-surfed, ridable waves, or degrade the beach experience of the entire rest of the world.

What’s next, Surfline celebrating the leaf-blower? The incredibly lame ATV scene? This is the LAST THING they should be promoting on a surf site.

I’m not linking to the actual video because I don’t want to reward this video with page-views and banner clicks, but here’s a screen-cap:

jetski_atpismo

Send your feedback to SurfLine re  the “Central California User video on 11.21.09” to:

Click here to leave an Editorial Comment with Surfline
or
Click here to leave an Video Comment with Surfline

Let’s encourage them to not celebrate the -needless- motorized degradation of the surf-zone.

– Karl

Synth utopia and the COOLEST THING AT THE NAMM SHOW

Friday, January 15th, 2010

So, I zoomed down to the NAMM Show in Anaheim (like LA, but blander and more soul-less).  My visit was Synth-Tastic.

1)  IMG_0646I visited the Dave Smith booth – he’s the guy who started Sequential Circuits back in the day.  I had a Sequential Six-Trak, which was freaking awesome, and I’m sad I sold mine.   But they had this kick ass director’s chair with the SC logo on it…

Dave Smith had a bunch of great sounding new synthesizers, including the Morpho and the Evolver.  Very tempting.   Then, I’m standing there and Don Buchla walks in!  Buchla was one of the original synth pioneers, along with Moog, Don Buchla, Hugh Le Caine, Raymond Scott and Paul Ketoff.

Buchla build some of the biggest, wildest, most imaginative electronic instruments ever, so it was a synth-fanboi* treat to see him there.

(* I once built a Paia Proteus-1 synth from a kit over an entire summer, so yes, I have a serious serious problem with synth love),

2)  THE COOLEST THING AT NAMM, I SWEAR I WILL FIGHT YOU IF YOU DARE DISAGREE

This firm, Teenage Engineering, showed their RIDICULOUSLY cool ‘palm-top’ synth / sampler /production gizmo, the OP-1.  It’s a gorgeous

The Best Thing at the NAMM Show, the OP-1

The Best Thing at the NAMM Show, the OP-1

piece of design, machined from a block of white-anodized aluminum, color coded keys and knobs, built-in speaker, built-in FM RADIO (for sampling), fantastically beautiful screen with brilliant brilliant amazing user interface, ability to filter external sounds, USB file transfer, oh my GOD!    Shipping ‘in a few months’.

If this thing turns out to be vaporware I will hang myself.

Their turntable design is also disgustingly awesome.


Download our new free EP at http://www.toolateforroses.com/  – free mp3s of new california rock music

New photos – live, “alien abduction”, press, and more…

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
Just spruced up the Too Late for Roses photo page with a bunch of new images and a really sleek (nerd alert!) slideshow / gallery plugin.  See Wyatt and Jordan abducted by aliens, some great live shots, ‘in the studio’ photos, and random images from Miami, New York, and 30,000 feet in the air…

http://www.toolateforroses.com/photos

Protected: Secret

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Good times at the Surfrider Free Fall Festival…

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

We had a great day @ the Surfrider Free Fall festival – playing with the Wadsworth Bluff Rats, Tropo, Fish out of Water, and more.   The Bluff Rats had to freeze their various appendeges off, but Too Late for Roses got lucky and the sun came out (a bit) to create a classic Cayucos early Winter sky over our set.   A beautiful day…

IMG_2263IMG_2267

Music Scene Ignites Across Central Coast Region of California

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

Download our new free EP at http://www.toolateforroses.com/  – free mp3s of new california rock music


Reposted from http://newmusicreviews.net/music-scene-ignites-across-central-coast-region-of-california/

California’s Central Coast region, a foggy coastal zone 300 miles from San Francisco and Los Angeles, is best known for its tourism and agriculture. Local industry is driven by the vineyard culture seen in the film “Sideways” and its classic beach town atmosphere, as well as nearby colleges and universities. Most music fans outside of the region are unaware that the Central Coast is also home to a growing music scene. Its “far from anywhere” location has so far kept the music from the outside.

The Central Coast’s distinct setting far from the noise of its two nearest major cities drives many local musicians to collaborate. The ongoing relationships are the backbone of the growing music scene, producing music that reflects the culture and personality of the Central Coast. Diverse rock bands such as Too Late For Roses, the Wadsworth Bluff Rats, Tropo and Stilltime each possess an individuality, but the collective result is the sound of the Central Coast: organic roots combined with both aggressive energy and pop/indie sensibility.

Too Late For Roses (http://www.toolateforroses.com) is the next band from the region preparing to drop a record, with its debut scheduled for release on indie label LPE Records this fall. The band features Boston-transplant Karl von Kries on lead vocals, guitar, bass, percussion and flute; Wyatt Lund on drums; and Jordan Martin on bass, pedal synth, guitar and vocals. This studio project has been creeping into view at notable California concert events, including a benefit show at the famous Live Oak Festival in Santa Barbara and a recent near-capacity show at Downtown Brew in San Luis Obispo.

TLFR Press Photo

Too Late For Roses Features Central Coast Musicians Jordan Martin, Karl Von Kries and Wyatt Lund

The band performs as a minimalist trio despite the band’s massive recorded sound, using unique instruments and live arrangements to keep the sound full on stage. Karl and Jordan routinely switch between guitar and bass mid-set, each taking turns at lead vocals. Karl layers lead flute over with effects over the band, often while simultaneously playing guitar. Too Late for Roses also is a rare modern band to use the pedal synth popularized by The Police and other bands in the early 1980s and rarely used since. This adds another interesting texture to the overall sound.

All Too Late For Roses band members are active in several musical projects both inside and outside the region. Karl previously fronted the local band Instar and has composed film scores for award-winning New York filmmaker, animator and fine artist Pat Smith. Karl and Pat are now working on “Masks,” a new film anticipated for release early next year.

Wyatt Lund is a respected drum instructor and founder of the popular Central Coast band Siko, while Jordan Martin also records as a solo artist and drums for the Wadsworth Bluff Rats, a band that merges the sunlit ambiance of the Central Coast region with alt-country atmospherics. Karl is producing both the Too Late For Roses debut and the first record from the Wadsworth Bluff Rats (http://www.wadsworthbluffrats.com) at Hanging Fish Western Front, his private Central Coast recording studio.

Tracks from the Too Late For Roses debut can be heard at the band’s website. Songs like “Pacifier” are heavy on melody, as its aggressive guitar riff, hovering bass lines and rock-steady drumming explodes into a huge chorus. Meanwhile, “B.C.O.,” with its moody, ethereal vocal harmonies, favors a darker atmosphere that suggests the gray Pacific Northwest skies colliding with the Central Coast shoreline.

Song previews, photography and a moody self-produced video for the track “So Gone” are among the other downloads available at the band’s website. The video was recently submitted to New York City fashion designer John Varvatos and SPIN Earth’s “Free The Noise” contest, which profiled hundreds of unsigned bands from around the world.

Along with Too Late For Roses and the Wadsworth Bluff Rats, the band Tropo (http://www.myspace.com/tropoganda) adds its stamp to the Central Coast region with its brand of electro-edged rock music that all at once reaches back to the early 80’s dance music of Manchester and the USA; emphasizes modern elements in rock and electronic music; and provides a glimpse into the future of where dance-oriented rock music is headed. And like Too Late for Roses, Tropo incorporates unusual instruments both in the studio and on stage: Tyson Leonard’s soaring lead violin, a focus of the band’s live shows; and Ryan Johnson’s atmospheric pedal steel, which adds an ambient flavor to the band’s emotionally-charged dance tunes.

Stilltime (http://www.stilltimemusic.com) is another local band that defies genres, incorporating eclectic instruments such as harmonica, mandolin, slide guitar and upright bass to create groove-oriented rock. Other notable Central Coast bands include Criticnue and the Damon Castillo Band. This land of sun, surf, fog, and wine is emerging as a powerful artistic scene, and the ongoing connections and collaborations amongst local musicians have built a solid musical foundation.